Glenbow Museum and Calgary Convention Centre

April 5, 2022

The Glenbow Museum and Calgary Convention Centre were constructed by CANA in 1976. This complex featured two unique buildings: Calgary’s first convention centre and major museum.

The Convention Centre was constructed with structural steel framing and a metal deck. The lower level contains the main banquet hall — a clear span room two storeys in height. On the second level are several additional meeting rooms. Cladding was composed of pre-cast concrete and metal siding with concrete block back-up.

The Glenbow Museum is an eight-storey structure, containing approximately 5,200 artifacts related to Alberta’s history. Total gross area of this tower is 293,200 ft² over the main eight floors. The museum itself is cast-in-place concrete, supported by a concrete column grid. The walls are clad with pre-cast concrete panels on steel hangers. It is interesting to note that there are very few windows in the museum because it is essential to control humidity, light, and temperature in the complex to protect the artifacts. A delicate building envelope was built to maintain museum standard environment conditions. Both buildings continue to provide Calgarians with many wonderful services.

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